Arizona’s Meteor Crater
About 50,000 years ago, a deep hole was formed when a meteor
struck the Earth about 35 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona. This crater measured three-quarters of a mile
wide and was about 700 feet deep. This
impact caused hurricane-force winds blowing in all directions with about 175
million tons of rock thrown into the air.
It only took 10 seconds to form the meteor crater causing a huge void
surrounding the area.
At first, it was thought that a volcanic blast caused the large
gap in the Earth’s surface, until in 1903, Daniel Barringer, a Philadelphia
mining engineer, went to the site. He
determined that the huge cavity was made by an enormous meteor. Barringer bore holes at the bottom of the
crater to prove that he was accurate. He
found oxidized meteorite fragments which convinced other researchers that his
theory was correct.
The owners of the Crater proclaim it to be “the first
proven, best-preserved meteorite crater on earth.”
I have been able to visit the Crater twice. My first visit
was in the summer with my family when my kids were little and another time was
in February with friends of ours from Pennsylvania. It was so cold and windy on the February
visit. The place has a visitor center
with much information about the Meteor Crater.
You can watch videos on how it was formed as well as seeing pieces of
the meteor itself. You step outside and
take various paths to landings that hang over the crater to get an amazing view
of how enormous the hole is. It is
definitely a site to be seen if you ever get to Arizona.
Man, that place has the weirdest feel in the world and driving there is like being on the moon. It's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI just saw a show on a science or natural history channel about this. Fascinating! It is compared to one in the bottom of one of the Great Lakes.
ReplyDeleteIt is an amazing site for sure.
ReplyDelete